GPs produce music video to showcase general practice to students

A GP group have produced a music video designed to show off the best bits of general practice to medical students, gaining a cult following on social media.

Dr Jon Ferdinand, a GP in Suffolk and a member of West Suffolk CCG, produced the two minute film as a way of engaging with students during a University of Cambridge clinical medicine careers evening.

Different specialties were given a minute each to make the case for their discipline, but the GPs – using instincts honed by years of consultation time targets – squeezed an extra minute from their hosts with a preprepared film.

The video – below – is a parody of the Pharell song ‘Happy’ and is actually the third produced by Dr Ferdinand and colleagues from the university’s GP Education Group.

It tells budding GPs of the perks of being your own boss, the role of CCGs holding the NHS purse strings - and it even gives a hat-tip to fellow diagnostician, Sherlock Holmes.

Previous editions have played up GP’s ‘Godfather’ position in the community, parodying scenes from the film, and the friendly rivalry with their colleagues in other disciplines.

Dr Ferdinand explained that Cambridge also provides students with great opportunities to sample general practice.

He said: ‘I wouldn’t use the video as a complete recruitment drive. When the students come out to the practice and see other GPs role modelling what the job will be, that’s a powerful thing, if they can identify a good role model in general practice – that will help them make that decision.’

He explained his own passion for the job is undiminished: ‘I do still love general practice, because I’m involved in teaching, and I’m involved in commissioning, and I’m also doing the day to day job of seeing patient. I’m quite enthusiastic about it all, hence I’m quite happy to make a video and sing about it.’

Dr Ferdinand even hoped that more experienced GPs could watch the video and be reminded why they picked the profession in the first place.

He said: ‘I hope so, I think there’s been a lot of negative press about GPs, so it’s quite nice to have something out there that says “actually it is good being a GP”.’

He assured Pulse that no patient hours were lost in the making of the video, which ‘was the product of a ‘couple of lunch break and a quick bit of editing. So it’s not as perfect as I’d want it to be.’

‘It was good fun to make, and I’m just glad my colleagues put their faith in it’.

Dr Tim Yates, deputy chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee, tweeted: ‘I was “educated” by some of these guys… *This* is where I get my dance moves from,’ while one Vimeo user commented: ‘Well now I definitely want to be a #GP… someone please apologise to Pharrell Williams.’

Readers' comments (5)

Well doneAbsolutely love the song but even more this MV. Thanks to Internet and You Tube , no problem with copyright.No matter how dark mood we are in because of the media and government . We still believe in the good of NHS and its gatekeeper --general practice will prevail!

Sorry to be a party pooper but as a GP entrant post 2004 contract we were promised a lot from the contract and the government have pretty much torn that contract up. It will be a shame to raise expectations to another group of potential GPs e.g. 'being your own boss' when we know federation and salaried posts are around the corner.